Specimen* of British Wild Flower t. 313 



Tl.TII 

 Saponarias, Lychnises and Epilobiums in great profusion. It 

 was a difficult matter harvesting the fruits of the field here 

 and at Bridport. It was embarras de richesse. Old news- 

 papers were at a premium in both places, and it generally 

 took the late evening hours and the early hours of morning 

 to arrange the specimens and change the drying papers. 

 Altogether, sixty-five new species of plants were gathered in 

 this district. 



The Braes o' Gleniffer, rendered classic ground by the 

 sweet music of Tannahill, the glen lying at its base, made 

 famous by the wit of its late laird, and the clay loam of the 

 adjoining country of Ayr have also contributed their quota 

 to this collection. Seamill is a small watering place on the 

 Ayrshire coast, and the banks of the little stream that drives 

 its " mill " I found one of my richest hunting .grounds. Here 

 and at Prestwick, Mauchline, and Mossgiel, where Burns 

 ploughed down the daisies, sixty-two specimens were 

 obtained. But the field that yielded the largest amount of 

 results with the least toil and trouble was the island of 

 Arran, or rather the district of Corrie on that island. The 

 geology of Arran is an epitome of that of the whole of 

 Scotland. From the granite on the top of Goatfell, flanked 

 by micaceous and argillaceous slates, and on their edges red 

 sandstones, with conglomerate and limestone intercalated, 

 every variety of soil may be looked for within a radius of 

 three or four miles, and as the coast is never visited by frost, 

 Laurence and other tropical species grow luxuriantly at the 

 highland village of Corrie. In this quarter I was able to add 

 fifty-six new species to my collection. 



Of course, the finding of new plants was now becoming 

 more difficult. All those most frequently met with I had 

 already secured. The flowers " born to blush unseen," had 

 to be wooed and won from their retirement, or further 

 progress was to be slow. Besides, July in England corre- 

 sponds with August in Scotland, and so I was only coming 

 in contact with the same general plants which I had 

 previous!}*- seen in the south. When I visited the north a 



